Biomimicry in architecture and the start of the Ecological Age

Michael Pawlyn believes in biomimicry -- the study of natural
structures and processes in order to help solve man-made problems.
The architect has founded his own architectural
firm based on its tenets, just published a book with RIBA on
the practice and has spoken at TED on its virtues.

The book, Biomimicry in Architecture, not only gives examples of
where biomimicry has been used, but also answers some of the issues
that naysayers raise. These include how you could tackle water purification, energy needs and heating in a completely
closed loop model where there is no waste.

Pawlyn argues that a lot of the technology needed to make this
happen is already available. In the book, he points to George Chan's sorghum brewery in Tsumeb, Namibia, which was
built to deliver "good beer, no pollution, more sales and more
jobs". It produced 12 products instead of simply just beer and
these included the nutrient-rich alga Spirulina, mushrooms grown in the spent grains and gas from an anaerobic digester which was used instead of burning
wood.

What is needed is a shift in mindset -- perhaps even the way
that we pay for things. Pawlyn suggests that we need to shift
taxation away from employment and on to the use of resources, for
example. "There are plenty of people who might scoff at the idea of
zero waste or getting all of our energy from the sun, but the fact
is that nature has existed that way and flourished for millions of
years. Although the challenges are hellishly difficult, I'm
absolutely convinced that they're possible," he says.

So far, he says, a lot of architects have simply made nods to biomimicry in
their designs. Pawlyn states: "Some aspects of biomimicry have been
played around with for a long time for example mimicking the
structure of termite
mounds. There have been a lot of architects who have toyed with
biomimicry, but have been quite dependent on seductive imagery such
as spiders' webs, but often the designs haven't been seen through
in a particularly thorough way. Sometimes the examples from nature
are just used as a departure point for developing original and
whacky forms.

"If you look beyond the nice shapes in nature and understand the
principles behind them, you can find some adaptations that can lead
to new innovative solutions that are radically more resource
efficient. It's the direction we need to take in the coming
decades."

There are architectural firms that have fully embraced
biomimicry. Pawlyn points to Tonkin Liu and structural
engineer Ed Clark at Arup who were inspired by the forms of shells
to create "a new form of construction derived from planar surfaces"
-- the Shi Ling bridge.

But he acknowledges that it is practical issues, including time
and money, which are getting in the way of a more widespread use of
biomimicry. He says: "Most clients want things in a hell of a rush.
There's a lot of pressure on both time and fees. If you're
developing a new idea, there's normally a process of R&D that
you need to go through. There's not normally enough time within a
normal architectural commission to do that. There's very little
decent R&D that goes on in the building industry. People would
be shocked at how backward construction is compared to consumer
electronics for example. The pace of change is painfully slow."

Despite the work of organisations like The Biomimicry Institute
in the US, founded by science writer and consultant Janine Benyus and Dayna Baumeister, many architects simply
don't know enough about the potential benefits of this mode. Pawlyn
says that having a biologist at the design table right from the
early stage of a project could not only change this but throw up
some "major breakthroughs".

He put this to test with a recent project for his firm, Exploration,
when the company was commissioned to create a concept study for a
biomimetic office building. He adopted "a magnificent seven
approach" to creating his team of architects, polymaths and
"brilliant thinkers who I have got to know over the past 20 years".
These included Professor of Biomimicry, Julian
Vincent, David Crookes from structural engineers Fluid Structures and
Graham Dodd from Arup R&D.
"By starting without a defining vision and creating one
collaboratively, I think we were able to create something that
reflected the best of what everyone had to offer," Pawlyn says.

Exploration has
now been asked by the client to put together a proposal to take
things to the next stage. He admits though that the costs, as with
any nascent technology, are still quite high: "The scheme at the
moment looks quite expensive but that's because we've tried to
identify the absolute ideals to get one of the most productive,
enjoyable and energy efficient buildings ever created. Now what we
need to do is work out what the right budget figure is to aim
for."

There are companies out there, as Pawlyn describes them -- the
"Googles of this
world" -- for whom the idea of having "a really distinctive and
charismatic building that promotes innovation and creativity"
appeals. The cost of R&D is still prohibitive and nothing short
of governmental intervention, pumping resources into innovation,
will alleviate this, the architect argues.

Pawlyn himself has firmly tied his colours to the mast and is
currently working on a
TED book about rapid manufacturing -- a technology that he says could play a
huge part in a shift to "an ecological age" in which buildings and
even cities could be regenerative. We could use rapid prototyping
and natural products such as cellulose, says Pawlyn, or even
harvest carbon from the atmosphere to create biorock -- which is
already being used in coral restoration projects.

Pawlyn enthuses: "For me, biomimicry is just one of the best
sources of innovation to get to a world of zero waste because those
are the rules under which biological life has had to exist. And it
hasn't just existed in a really miserable, self-denying way, but in
a celebrated, abundant and regenerative way. I think we need to
move to a far more positive way of talking about the future. A lot
of sustainable design has got very stuck in very familiar solutions
and even familiar materials and forms, and so there's so much more
to it."

Comments

Not to be picky but Architects don't design the process parts of brewery's and water treatment plants. So the innovation if there is any is really civil &amp; chemical engineering the architecture is just the cool shapes of the buildings.

Bill Stickers

Feb 23rd 2012

This is just to defend the unbuildable, uneconomical 3D models being churned out of CAD machines. What a load of toss!

Mark K

Feb 24th 2012

I read aboiut Tonkin Liu and Arups development of this Shell Lace Structure and it sounds fascinating and innovative. The whole point of it is to maximise structural efficiency and minimise material wastage, so Mark your comment feels a little broadly placed.

jo

Feb 25th 2012

I read aboiut Tonkin Liu and Arups development of this Shell Lace Structure and it sounds fascinating and innovative. The whole point of it is to maximise structural efficiency and minimise material wastage, so Mark your comment feels a little broadly placed.

jo

Feb 25th 2012

jo, I know what the point of it is but how do you prepare a set of tender documents for these organic forms without sending all the consultants broke?